Now a General Dynamics Company

Now a General Dynamics Company
Welcome to a Medical Battery specialist of the Acterna Battery
Itronix had invited me up to their Spokane, WA, headquarters so I could get an idea where this longtime leader in rugged computing and wireless systems was headed after their acquisition by General Dynamics in September of 2005.
So on May 17, 2006, I flew up from Sacramento in an Alaska Airlines's Horizon turbo-prop plane, stopping in Boise, Idaho which, interestingly, is in a different time zone. My old friend Matt Gerber, newly promoted to Vice President of Sales and Marketing, picked me up at the airport and we exchanged our latest automotive adventures (we're both car nuts). I checked in at the historic Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane, a beautifully restored old AAA four diamond hotel with ballrooms and all sorts of historic touches and decorations that are just wonderful. Those visiting with battery like JDSU GPDR204 Battery, JDSU LI204SX Battery, JDSU MTS-6000 Battery, JDSU LI204SX-60A Battery, JDSU LI204SX-66A Battery, JDSU LI204SX-60 Battery, HP VA7100 Battery, HP VA7110 Battery, HP VA7400 Battery, HP VA7410 Battery, Biocare ECG-9803 BatterySpokane should stay there.
To reacquaint myself with some of my old contacts at Itronix before the following day's factory tour, we had arranged dinner at the Bluefish Japanese restaurant just across the street from the Davenport. Present were Matt Gerber, Marie Hartis who is director of worldwide marketing communications, Brian Fiut who is a product manager, and myself. The food was delicious, with Matt proving to be quite the expert in ordering Japanese fare. So we ended up with a huge sushi platter and more. The conversation was informative, yet lighthearted and cordial, and I certainly did not get the impression that these were employees of a company filled with trepidation, one that doesn't quite know what to expect from its new owners. Matt explained that Itronix would continue to sell to commercial markets, but that the split would now favor government whereas before the majority of sales had come from commercial accounts.
I learned that Sprint had ordered some 3,000 of the semi-rugged GoBook VR-1s to replace their older Itronix GoBook computers -- certainly a big coup. Tom Turner, president and CEO of Itronix, now also holds the title of Vice President & General Manager of the Computing Technologies Division within General Dynamics' C4 Systems that Itronix has become part of. I wondered about the ramifications of keeping or changing the well-established Itronix brand name and identity. I was told that the idea of changing the Itronix name was not imposed on the company; rather it was something that was suggested and agreed on by all involved.
I also learned that Itronix is now located in a brand new facility that they planned and designed from scratch to fit their needs. The two facilities Itronix had used prior had been leased, and so the transition was easy. Gerber said the new manufacturing floor was smaller but, due to much improved efficiency, manages to produce more units. Those productivity gains would be demonstrated to me impressively the next day.
The next morning, Marie Hartis met me at 7:30AM at the Davenport where we had breakfast and I learned more about the recent developments at Itronix. Then we were headed for the new Itronix facilities at 12825 Mirabeau Parkway in Spokane Valley, Washington (see front entrance below).